Apparatus, a method and a computer program for video coding

ABSTRACT

There is disclosed an apparatus, a method and a computer program for video coding. The apparatus comprises a selector configured for selecting a pixel for prediction; a projection definer configured for determining a projection of said pixel to a set of reference pixels; and a prediction definer configured for selecting one or more reference pixels from said set of reference pixels on the basis of said projection, and using said selected one or more reference pixels to obtain a prediction value for said pixel to be predicted.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Application No. 61/302,303filed Feb. 8, 2010, which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an apparatus, a method and a computerprogram for encoding and decoding.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

A video codec may comprise an encoder which transforms input video intoa compressed representation suitable for storage and/or transmission anda decoder that can uncompress the compressed video representation backinto a viewable form, or either one of them. Typically, the encoderdiscards some information in the original video sequence in order torepresent the video in a more compact form, for example at a lower bitrate.

Typical video codecs, operating for example according to theInternational Telecommunication Union's ITU-T H.263 and H.264 codingstandards, encode video information in two phases. In the first phase,pixel values in a certain picture area or “block” are predicted. Thesepixel values can be predicted, for example, by motion compensationmechanisms, which involve finding and indicating an area in one of thepreviously encoded video frames (or a later coded video frame) thatcorresponds closely to the block being coded. Additionally, pixel valuescan be predicted by spatial mechanisms which involve finding andindicating a spatial region relationship.

Prediction approaches using image information from a previous (or alater) image can also be called as Inter prediction methods, andprediction approaches using image information within the same image canalso be called as Intra prediction methods.

The second phase is one of coding the error between the predicted blockof pixels and the original block of pixels. This is typicallyaccomplished by transforming the difference in pixel values using aspecified transform. This transform is typically a Discrete CosineTransform (DCT) or a variant thereof. After transforming the difference,the transformed difference is quantized and entropy encoded.

By varying the fidelity of the quantization process, the encoder cancontrol the balance between the accuracy of the pixel representation,(in other words, the quality of the picture) and the size of theresulting encoded video representation (in other words, the file size ortransmission bit rate).

The decoder reconstructs the output video by applying a predictionmechanism similar to that used by the encoder in order to form apredicted representation of the pixel blocks (using the motion orspatial information created by the encoder and stored in the compressedrepresentation of the image) and prediction error decoding (the inverseoperation of the prediction error coding to recover the quantizedprediction error signal in the spatial domain).

After applying pixel prediction and error decoding processes the decodercombines the prediction and the prediction error signals (the pixelvalues) to form the output video frame.

The decoder (and encoder) may also apply additional filtering processesin order to improve the quality of the output video before passing itfor display and/or storing as a prediction reference for the forthcomingframes in the video sequence.

In typical video codecs, the motion information is indicated by motionvectors associated with each motion compensated image block. Each ofthese motion vectors represents the displacement of the image block inthe picture to be coded (in the encoder) or decoded (at the decoder) andthe prediction source block in one of the previously coded or decodedimages (or pictures). In order to represent motion vectors efficiently,motion vectors are typically coded differentially with respect to blockspecific predicted motion vector. In a typical video codec, thepredicted motion vectors are created in a predefined way, for example bycalculating the median of the encoded or decoded motion vectors of theadjacent blocks.

In typical video codecs the prediction residual after motioncompensation is first transformed with a transform kernel (like DCT) andthen coded. The reason for this is that often there still exists somecorrelation among the residual and transform can in many cases helpreduce this correlation and provide more efficient coding.

Typical video encoders utilize the Lagrangian cost function to findoptimal coding modes, for example the desired macro block mode andassociated motion vectors. This type of cost function uses a weightingfactor or λ to tie together the exact or estimated image distortion dueto lossy coding methods and the exact or estimated amount of informationrequired to represent the pixel values in an image area.

This may be represented by the equation:C=D+λR  (1)

where C is the Lagrangian cost to be minimised, D is the imagedistortion (for example, the mean-squared error between the pixel valuesin original image block and in coded image block) with the mode andmotion vectors currently considered, λ is a Lagrangian coefficient and Ris the number of bits needed to represent the required data toreconstruct the image block in the decoder (including the amount of datato represent the candidate motion vectors).

Some hybrid video codecs, such as H.264/AVC, predict the Intra codedareas by spatial means utilizing the pixel values of the alreadyprocessed areas in the picture. A typical codec has a fixed set ofavailable prediction methods which provide predictions from thecorresponding direction. If the number of available predictiondirections is low, the compression performance may suffer as there maynot be a method matching to all the directional structures in thepicture content. If the number of available prediction directions islarge the implementation complexity may become a burden. Some codecs usea small number of directional intra prediction methods, for example from2 to 8 different directions, which may lead into suboptimal performancebut may keep the implementation complexity at a moderate level.

SUMMARY

This invention provides some embodiments which may support a relativelylarge number of prediction directions in an Intra prediction subsystemof a video codec. According to some embodiments the prediction processis defined by a displacement measure between one line of pixels and areference line of pixels at a given granularity, either in a horizontalor a vertical direction. When deriving predicted values for each pixelin the block the selected displacement is used to calculate a projectionof each pixel to the line of reference pixels and an interpolationoperation is applied to calculate final prediction values utilizing thedistance of the projected pixel location from the closest referencepixels.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided anapparatus comprising:

a selector configured for selecting a pixel for prediction;

a projection definer configured for determining a projection of saidpixel to a set of reference pixels; and

a prediction definer configured for selecting one or more referencepixels from said set of reference pixels on the basis of saidprojection, and using said selected one or more reference pixels toobtain a prediction value for said pixel to be predicted.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a methodcomprising:

selecting a pixel for prediction;

determining a projection of said pixel to a set of reference pixels;

selecting one or more reference pixels from said set of reference pixelson the basis of said projection; and

obtaining a prediction value for said pixel to be predicted by usingsaid selected one or more reference pixels.

According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided acomputer readable storage medium stored with code thereon for use by anapparatus, which when executed by a processor, causes the apparatus toperform:

select a pixel for prediction;

determine a projection of said pixel to a set of reference pixels;

select one or more reference pixels from said set of reference pixels onthe basis of said projection; and

obtain a prediction value for said pixel to be predicted by using saidselected one or more reference pixels.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention there is provided at leastone processor and at least one memory, said at least one memory storedwith code thereon, which when executed by said at least one processor,causes an apparatus to perform:

select a pixel for prediction;

determine a projection of said pixel to a set of reference pixels;

select one or more reference pixels from said set of reference pixels onthe basis of said projection; and

obtain a prediction value for said pixel to be predicted by using saidselected one or more reference pixels.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention there is provided anapparatus which comprises:

an analyser configured for examining an indication of a directionalityregarding a block of pixels of an image to be decoded; and

a reconstructor configured for:

determining a projection of a pixel of said block of pixels to bedecoded on a set of reference pixels; and

selecting one or more reference pixels from said set of reference pixelson the basis of said projection, and using said selected one or morereference pixels to obtain a prediction value for said pixel to bepredicted.

According to a sixth aspect of the invention there is provided a methodcomprising:

examining an indication of directionality regarding a block of pixels ofan image to be decoded;

determining a projection of a pixel of said block of pixels to bedecoded on a set of reference pixels; and

selecting one or more reference pixels from said set of reference pixelson the basis of said projection, and using said selected one or morereference pixels to obtain a prediction value for said pixel to bepredicted.

According to a seventh aspect of the invention there is provided acomputer readable storage medium stored with code thereon for use by anapparatus, which when executed by a processor, causes the apparatus toperform:

examine an indication of a directionality regarding a block of pixels ofan image to be decoded;

determine a projection of a pixel of said block of pixels to be decodedon a set of reference pixels;

select one or more reference pixels from said set of reference pixels onthe basis of said projection, and

use said selected one or more reference pixels to obtain a predictionvalue for said pixel to be predicted.

According to an eighth aspect of the invention there is provided atleast one processor and at least one memory, said at least one memorystored with code thereon, which when executed by said at least oneprocessor, causes an apparatus to perform:

examine an indication of directionality regarding a block of pixels ofan image to be decoded;

determine a projection of a pixel of said block of pixels to be decodedon a set of reference pixels; and

select one or more reference pixels from said set of reference pixels onthe basis of said projection, and

use said selected one or more reference pixels to obtain a predictionvalue for said pixel to be predicted.

According to a ninth aspect of the invention there is provided anencoder comprising:

a selector configured for selecting an encoding method from a set ofintra prediction modes for encoding a block of pixels of an image; and

a selector configured for selecting a pixel for prediction;

wherein said intra prediction mode comprises:

a projection definer configured for determining a projection of saidpixel to a set of reference pixels; and

a prediction definer configured for selecting one or more referencepixels from said set of reference pixels on the basis of saidprojection, and using said selected one or more reference pixels toobtain a prediction value for said pixel to be predicted.

According to a tenth aspect of the invention there is provided a decoderwhich comprises:

an analyser configured for examining an indication of a directionalityregarding a block of pixels of an image to be decoded; and

a reconstructor configured for:

determining a projection of a pixel of said block of pixels to bedecoded on a set of reference pixels; and

selecting one or more reference pixels from said set of reference pixelson the basis of said projection, and using said selected one or morereference pixels to obtain a prediction value for said pixel to bepredicted.

According to an eleventh aspect of the invention there is provided anapparatus which comprises:

means for selecting an encoding method from a set of intra predictionmodes for encoding a block of pixels of an image;

means for selecting a pixel for prediction;

wherein said intra prediction mode comprises:

means for determining a projection of said pixel to a set of referencepixels;

means for selecting one or more reference pixels from said set ofreference pixels on the basis of said projection; and

means for obtaining a prediction value for said pixel to be predicted byusing said selected one or more reference pixels.

According to a twelfth aspect of the invention there is provided anapparatus which comprises:

means for examining an indication of a directionality regarding a blockof pixels of an image to be decoded; and

means determining a projection of a pixel of said block of pixels to bedecoded on a set of reference pixels; and

means for selecting one or more reference pixels from said set ofreference pixels on the basis of said projection; and

means for using said selected one or more reference pixels to obtain aprediction value for said pixel to be predicted.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For better understanding of the present invention, reference will now bemade by way of example to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows schematically an electronic device employing someembodiments of the invention;

FIG. 2 shows schematically a user equipment suitable for employing someembodiments of the invention;

FIG. 3 further shows schematically electronic devices employingembodiments of the invention connected using wireless and wired networkconnections;

FIG. 4a shows schematically an embodiment of the invention asincorporated within an encoder;

FIG. 4b shows schematically an embodiment of an intra predictoraccording to some embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 5 shows a flow diagram showing the operation of an embodiment ofthe invention with respect to the encoder as shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of a decoder according to someembodiments of the invention;

FIG. 7 shows a flow diagram of showing the operation of an embodiment ofthe invention with respect to the decoder shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8a depicts an example of available prediction directions for onemode of implementation;

FIG. 8b depicts an example of predicting the lowest row of pixels in ablock from reference pixels, when the displacement between the lowestrow of the block and the reference row is one pixel to the left;

FIG. 8c depicts an example of predicting another row of pixels in ablock from reference pixels, when the displacement between the lowestrow of the block and the reference row is one pixel to the left;

FIG. 8d depicts an example of predicting one row of pixels in a blockfrom reference pixels, when the displacement between the lowest row ofthe block and the reference row is negative;

FIG. 8e depicts an example of obtaining prediction values for pixelsfrom a block from reference pixels according to another embodiment; and

FIG. 9 depicts an example of a bit stream of an image.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The following describes in further detail suitable apparatus andpossible mechanisms for the provision of enhancing encoding efficiencyand signal fidelity for a video codec. In this regard reference is firstmade to FIG. 1 which shows a schematic block diagram of an exemplaryapparatus or electronic device 50, which may incorporate a codecaccording to an embodiment of the invention.

The electronic device 50 may for example be a mobile terminal or userequipment of a wireless communication system. However, it would beappreciated that embodiments of the invention may be implemented withinany electronic device or apparatus which may require encoding anddecoding or encoding or decoding video images.

The apparatus 50 may comprise a housing 30 for incorporating andprotecting the device. The apparatus 50 further may comprise a display32 in the form of a liquid crystal display. In other embodiments of theinvention the display may be any suitable display technology suitable todisplay an image or video. The apparatus 50 may further comprise akeypad 34. In other embodiments of the invention any suitable data oruser interface mechanism may be employed. For example the user interfacemay be implemented as a virtual keyboard or data entry system as part ofa touch-sensitive display. The apparatus may comprise a microphone 36 orany suitable audio input which may be a digital or analogue signalinput. The apparatus 50 may further comprise an audio output devicewhich in embodiments of the invention may be any one of: an earpiece 38,speaker, or an analogue audio or digital audio output connection. Theapparatus 50 may also comprise a battery 40 (or in other embodiments ofthe invention the device may be powered by any suitable mobile energydevice such as solar cell, fuel cell or clockwork generator). Theapparatus may further comprise an infrared port 42 for short range lineof sight communication to other devices. In other embodiments theapparatus 50 may further comprise any suitable short range communicationsolution such as for example a Bluetooth wireless connection or aUSB/firewire wired connection.

The apparatus 50 may comprise a controller 56 or processor forcontrolling the apparatus 50. The controller 56 may be connected tomemory 58 which in embodiments of the invention may store both data inthe form of image and audio data and/or may also store instructions forimplementation on the controller 56. The controller 56 may further beconnected to codec circuitry 54 suitable for carrying out coding anddecoding of audio and/or video data or assisting in coding and decodingcarried out by the controller 56.

The apparatus 50 may further comprise a card reader 48 and a smart card46, for example a UICC and UICC reader for providing user informationand being suitable for providing authentication information forauthentication and authorization of the user at a network.

The apparatus 50 may comprise radio interface circuitry 52 connected tothe controller and suitable for generating wireless communicationsignals for example for communication with a cellular communicationsnetwork, a wireless communications system or a wireless local areanetwork. The apparatus 50 may further comprise an antenna 44 connectedto the radio interface circuitry 52 for transmitting radio frequencysignals generated at the radio interface circuitry 52 to otherapparatus(es) and for receiving radio frequency signals from otherapparatus(es).

In some embodiments of the invention, the apparatus 50 comprises acamera capable of recording or detecting individual frames which arethen passed to the codec 54 or controller for processing. In someembodiments of the invention, the apparatus may receive the video imagedata for processing from another device prior to transmission and/orstorage. In some embodiments of the invention, the apparatus 50 mayreceive either wirelessly or by a wired connection the image forcoding/decoding.

With respect to FIG. 3, an example of a system within which embodimentsof the present invention can be utilized is shown. The system 10comprises multiple communication devices which can communicate throughone or more networks. The system 10 may comprise any combination ofwired or wireless networks including, but not limited to a wirelesscellular telephone network (such as a GSM, UMTS, CDMA network etc), awireless local area network (WLAN) such as defined by any of the IEEE802.x standards, a Bluetooth personal area network, an Ethernet localarea network, a token ring local area network, a wide area network, andthe Internet.

The system 10 may include both wired and wireless communication devicesor apparatus 50 suitable for implementing embodiments of the invention.

For example, the system shown in FIG. 3 shows a mobile telephone network11 and a representation of the internet 28. Connectivity to the internet28 may include, but is not limited to, long range wireless connections,short range wireless connections, and various wired connectionsincluding, but not limited to, telephone lines, cable lines, powerlines, and similar communication pathways.

The example communication devices shown in the system 10 may include,but are not limited to, an electronic device or apparatus 50, acombination of a personal digital assistant (PDA) and a mobile telephone14, a PDA 16, an integrated messaging device (IMD) 18, a desktopcomputer 20, a notebook computer 22. The apparatus 50 may be stationaryor mobile when carried by an individual who is moving. The apparatus 50may also be located in a mode of transport including, but not limitedto, a car, a truck, a taxi, a bus, a train, a boat, an airplane, abicycle, a motorcycle or any similar suitable mode of transport.

Some or further apparatus may send and receive calls and messages andcommunicate with service providers through a wireless connection 25 to abase station 24. The base station 24 may be connected to a networkserver 26 that allows communication between the mobile telephone network11 and the internet 28. The system may include additional communicationdevices and communication devices of various types.

The communication devices may communicate using various transmissiontechnologies including, but not limited to, code division multipleaccess (CDMA), global systems for mobile communications (GSM), universalmobile telecommunications system (UMTS), time divisional multiple access(TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), transmission controlprotocol-internet protocol (TCP-IP), short messaging service (SMS),multimedia messaging service (MMS), email, instant messaging service(IMS), Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11 and any similar wireless communicationtechnology. A communications device involved in implementing variousembodiments of the present invention may communicate using various mediaincluding, but not limited to, radio, infrared, laser, cableconnections, and any suitable connection.

With respect to FIG. 4a , a block diagram of a video encoder suitablefor carrying out embodiments of the invention is shown. Furthermore,with respect to FIG. 5, the operation of the encoder exemplifyingembodiments of the invention specifically with respect to theinterpolation of the selected surface area is shown in detail.

FIG. 4a shows the encoder as comprising a pixel predictor 302,prediction error encoder 303 and prediction error decoder 304. FIG. 4aalso shows an embodiment of the pixel predictor 302 as comprising aninter-predictor 306, an intra-predictor 308, a mode selector 310, afilter 316, and a reference frame memory 318. The mode selector 310comprises a block processor 381 and a cost evaluator 382. FIG. 4b alsodepicts an embodiment of the intra-predictor 308 which comprises aplurality of different intra-prediction modes: Mode 1, Mode 2, . . . ,Mode n and may also comprise a prediction processor 309. The modeselector 310 may also comprise a quantizer 384.

The pixel predictor 302 receives the image 300 to be encoded at both theinter-predictor 306 (which determines the difference between the imageand a motion compensated reference frame 318) and the intra-predictor308 (which determines a prediction for an image block based only on thealready processed parts of current frame or picture). The output of boththe inter-predictor and the intra-predictor are passed to the modeselector 310. The intra-predictor 308 may have more than oneintra-prediction modes. Hence, each mode may perform theintra-prediction and provide the predicted signal to the mode selector310. The mode selector 310 also receives a copy of the image 300.

The block processor 381 determines which encoding mode to use to encodethe current block. If the block processor 381 decides to use aninter-prediction mode it will pass the output of the inter-predictor 306to the output of the mode selector 310. If the block processor 381decides to use an intra-prediction mode it will pass the output of oneof the intra-predictor modes to the output of the mode selector 310.

According to some example embodiments the pixel predictor 302 operatesas follows. The inter predictor 306 and the intra prediction modes 308perform the prediction of the current block to obtain predicted pixelvalues of the current block. The intra predictor 306 and the intraprediction modes 308 provide the predicted pixel values of the currentblock to the block processor 381 for analyzing which prediction toselect. In addition to the predicted values of the current block, theblock processor 381 may, in some embodiments, receive an indication of adirectional intra prediction mode from the intra prediction modes.

The block processor 381 examines whether to select the inter predictionmode or the intra prediction mode. The block processor 381 may use costfunctions such as the equation (1) or some other methods to analyzewhich encoding method gives the most efficient result with respect to acertain criterion or criteria. The selected criteria may include codingefficiency, processing costs and/or some other criteria. The blockprocessor 381 may examine the prediction for each directionality i.e.for each intra prediction mode and inter prediction mode and calculatethe cost value for each intra prediction mode and inter prediction mode,or the block processor 381 may examine only a subset of all availableprediction modes in the selection of the prediction mode.

When the cost has been calculated with respect to each or to a selectedset of intra prediction modes and possibly with respect to the interprediction mode, the block processor 381 selects one intra predictionmode or the inter prediction mode for encoding the current block. If anintra prediction mode was selected, the selected intra prediction modeincludes the directionality indication which shall also be indicated toa decoder.

The indication of a directional intra prediction mode may comprise anangle indicated, for example, as a displacement of one row of thecurrent block with respect to a reference row of pixels of a neighboringblock in case of vertical prediction or as a displacement of one columnof the current block with respect to a reference column of pixels of aneighboring block in case of horizontal prediction. In some embodimentsthe allowed displacements in the horizontal and vertical direction maydepend on the size of the block to be encoded. Some example ranges arefrom −N to +N pixels for a block size of N×N pixels for both horizontaland vertical prediction. Other example ranges are −2N×+2N pixels,−3N×+3N pixels, −2N×+4N pixels, −4N×+2N pixels, etc. The angle may alsobe indicated by using other means, for example as an integer value, afloating point number, etc.

The same or different intra prediction direction can be applied fordifferent components of the picture block (such as luminance,chrominance or depth component), or the indication of the intraprediction direction for one or more components can be used to limit theallowed set of intra prediction directions of one or more othercomponents.

The intra prediction direction could be predicted from the neighboringmacroblocks. This prediction could be done based on reconstructionvalues of neighboring macroblocks, intra prediction directions ofneighboring macroblocks or mode of neighboring macroblocks.

An example of allowed displacements is illustrated in FIG. 8a in whichthe directionality is analyzed with respect to the current block. Thedisplacement is expressed with reference to the last pixel at the lastrow of the block but it can also be expressed with reference to anotherpixel of the same block. The lines from the last pixel of the last rowto different pixels of the neighboring blocks illustrate the alloweddirections (displacements) in this example embodiment. These pixels ofthe neighboring blocks can be used as reference pixels for prediction ofpixels of the current block. The reference pixels are indicated astriangles in FIG. 8a . In this example the block size is 8×8 and therange is from −N to +N, wherein the displacement can be from −8 to +8pixels with one pixel resolution. In some other embodiments thedifference between two consecutive, allowed displacements can be afraction of one pixel, for example ½ pixels wherein there are moredirections to select from.

Now, an example of an intra prediction mode will be described in moredetail with reference to FIGS. 8b-8c . In the example of FIGS. 8b and 8cthe intra prediction mode with the displacement of +1 pixel inhorizontal direction is illustrated. As can be seen from FIG. 8b thepixels of the current block will be predicted from pixels above thecurrent block. This can also be called as a vertical prediction. Inorder to obtain the predicted pixel values, a projection of each of thepixels to the reference row and column is calculated (FIG. 8b ). If theprojection falls in between two reference pixels (as can be seen in FIG.8c ), the prediction value is, for example, linearly interpolated fromthose two reference pixels, otherwise the corresponding reference pixelcan used. In the example of FIG. 8b the prediction value of the lastpixel on the last row of the current block is obtained from thereference row of pixels by using the pixel which is located in the nextcolumn on the reference row with reference to the pixel to be predictedi.e. the displacement is +1. Correspondingly, the prediction value ofthe second last pixel on the last row of the current block is obtainedfrom the reference row of pixels by using the pixel which is located inthe next column on the reference row with reference to the pixel to bepredicted. In other words, the reference pixel is in the same columnthan the last pixel of the current block. Prediction values for theother pixels on the last row can be obtained respectively as isindicated by the arrows in FIG. 8 b.

When the pixel values of the other rows of the current block arepredicted the same direction value is used and also the same referencerow/column. FIG. 8c illustrates the prediction of the sixth row of thecurrent block. The angular coefficient of the projection is the samethan in the situation of FIG. 8b . In this example situation, when thepixels of the sixth row are predicted, the reference values to be usedare not exactly the actual reference values of the reference row butthey can be obtained by using two adjacent reference pixels. This can beseen from FIG. 8c in which the arrows (directionality vectors orprojections) are not going via the reference pixels of the reference rowbut between two adjacent reference pixels. In an example embodiment thereference values are obtained by interpolating two adjacent pixelvalues. The interpolation may be linear interpolation, logarithmicinterpolation or some other interpolation. For example, the predictionvalue for the first pixel on the sixth row of the current block can beobtained by interpolating the reference pixel value on the same row thanthe first pixel and the reference pixel value on the next row to theleft from the first pixel. The prediction values of the other pixels ofthe sixth row can be obtained correspondingly.

The same principles can be used when predicting the pixel values of theother rows of the current block. If the directionality vector (which canalso be called a projection) is not directed exactly to the referencepixel value, the pixel values between which the directionality vectortraverses are interpolated to obtain a prediction value of a pixel.

It should be noted here that the expressions “directed to a pixel” and“traversing” are only illustrative expressions to clarify the invention.In practical implementations there need not be any vectors or arrowswhich are directed to pixels but the block processor 381 may use somecalculation algorithms to determine whether a reference pixel value oran interpolation using two adjacent pixel values shall be used to obtaina prediction value.

In some situations the reference value for a pixel to be predicted maynot be above the current block but it may also be beside the currentblock. An example of such situation is illustrated in FIG. 8d . In thisexample the displacement is −3 pixels with reference to the last pixelon the last row of the current block. FIG. 8d reveals that thedirectionality vectors regarding the first and second pixel of the sixthrow of the current block do not traverse between two reference pixels ofthe reference row but they traverse on the left side of the left mostpixel of the reference row. Hence, in this example embodiment thereference values are taken from the reference column i.e. by usingpixels of the column which is adjacent on the current block (on the leftside). If the directionality vector traverses via a reference pixel ofthe reference column, that pixel value can be used as a predictionvalue. Otherwise interpolation is used so that the adjacent referencepixel values of the reference column between which the directionalityvector traverses are interpolated.

According to the above described embodiment the prediction values of thecurrent block can be obtained by using already decoded reference pixelson the row above the current block and/or on the column left to thecurrent block when the encoding/decoding process proceeds from left toright and from top to bottom of an image. If the encoding/decoding orderis different from that the reference pixels may also be different fromthe above embodiment.

The reference row and column of pixels consist of pixels already decodedand are located in this example embodiment immediately above and to theleft from the current block (the block under processing), as is shown inFIG. 8a . However, the reference pixels may also be other pixels thanthose.

The values of the reference pixels can be filtered or processed by othermeans before used as a reference. In some embodiments it can besignalled if the reference pixels are processed or not and what kind ofprocessing is applied to those pixels if they are processed.

In some embodiments there are at least as many intra prediction modes asthe number of allowed directionalities. Hence, each intra predictionmode may be designed to produce only one intra prediction result. Inthat case the information regarding the projections and which referencepixels to use in the prediction may be implemented as parameters orother means in the intra prediction mode. For example, the intraprediction mode relating to the displacement of +1 there may be aparameter which indicates that prediction values for the last row ofpixels is obtained directly (e.g. by copying) from the pixels above thecurrent block with the displacement of +1, etc. There may also be theprediction processor 309 which can be used to perform the intrapredictions for each directionality and which can be aware of theparameters.

The predicted pixel values or predicted pixel values quantized by theoptional quantizer 384 are provided as the output of the mode selector.

The output of the mode selector is passed to a first summing device 321.The first summing device may subtract the pixel predictor 302 outputfrom the image 300 to produce a first prediction error signal 320 whichis input to the prediction error encoder 303.

The pixel predictor 302 further receives from a preliminaryreconstructor 339 the combination of the prediction representation ofthe image block 312 and the output 338 of the prediction error decoder304. The preliminary reconstructed image 314 may be passed to theintra-predictor 308 and to a filter 316. The filter 316 receiving thepreliminary representation may filter the preliminary representation andoutput a final reconstructed image 340 which may be saved in a referenceframe memory 318. The reference frame memory 318 may be connected to theinter-predictor 306 to be used as the reference image against which thefuture image 300 is compared in inter-prediction operations.

The operation of the pixel predictor 302 may be configured to carry outany known pixel prediction algorithm known in the art.

The pixel predictor 302 may also comprise a filter 385 to filter thepredicted values before outputting them from the pixel predictor 302.

In some other embodiments the prediction value may be obtained by usingnot the adjacent pixels but pixels farther away from each other. Anexample of this is illustrated in FIG. 8e . For example, if theprojection of the pixel to be predicted is directed between a thirdreference pixel and a fourth reference pixel in the reference pixel row,as is illustrated with the arrow 810 in FIG. 8e , the prediction valuemay be obtained by interpolating the second and the fifth referencepixel value. Respectively, if the projection of the pixel to bepredicted is directed to one reference pixel value i.e. not between twovalues, as is illustrated with the arrow 811 in FIG. 8e , the predictionvalue may be obtained by interpolating the reference pixel on the leftside and the reference pixel on the right side of said one referencepixel. In the example of the arrow 811, the sixth and seventh referencevalues are used in the intepolation.

The operation of the prediction error encoder 302 and prediction errordecoder 304 will be described hereafter in further detail. In thefollowing examples the encoder generates images in terms of 16×16 pixelmacroblocks which go to form the full image or picture. Thus, for thefollowing examples the pixel predictor 302 outputs a series of predictedmacroblocks of size 16×16 pixels and the first summing device 321outputs a series of 16×16 pixel residual data macroblocks which mayrepresent the difference between a first macro-block in the image 300against a predicted macro-block (output of pixel predictor 302). Itwould be appreciated that other size macro blocks may be used.

The prediction error encoder 303 comprises a transform block 342 and aquantizer 344. The transform block 342 transforms the first predictionerror signal 320 to a transform domain. The transform is, for example,the DCT transform. The quantizer 344 quantizes the transform domainsignal, e.g. the DCT coefficients, to form quantized coefficients.

The entropy encoder 330 receives the output of the prediction errorencoder and may perform a suitable entropy encoding/variable lengthencoding on the signal to provide error detection and correctioncapability. Any suitable entropy encoding algorithm may be employed.

The prediction error decoder 304 receives the output from the predictionerror encoder 303 and performs the opposite processes of the predictionerror encoder 303 to produce a decoded prediction error signal 338 whichwhen combined with the prediction representation of the image block 312at the second summing device 339 produces the preliminary reconstructedimage 314. The prediction error decoder may be considered to comprise adequantizer 346, which dequantizes the quantized coefficient values,e.g. DCT coefficients, to reconstruct the transform signal and aninverse transformation block 348, which performs the inversetransformation to the reconstructed transform signal wherein the outputof the inverse transformation block 348 contains reconstructed block(s).The prediction error decoder may also comprise a macroblock filter (notshown) which may filter the reconstructed macroblock according tofurther decoded information and filter parameters.

The operation and implementation of the mode selector 310 is shown infurther detail with respect to FIG. 5. On the basis of the predictionsignals from the output of the inter-predictor 306, the output of theintra-predictor 308 and/or the image signal 300 the block processor 381determines which encoding mode to use to encode the current image block.This selection is depicted as the block 500 in FIG. 5. The blockprocessor 381 may calculate a rate-distortion cost (RD) value or anothercost value for the prediction signals which are input to the modeselector 310 and select such an encoding mode 503, 504 for which thedetermined cost is the smallest.

The mode selector 310 provides an indication of the encoding mode of thecurrent block (501). The indication may be encoded and inserted to a bitstream or stored into a memory together with the image information. Inconnection with the intra prediction modes it may be necessary toinclude some indication of the selected intra prediction mode to the bitstream. For example, the indication may include information on thedirectionality of the intra prediction mode. In some example embodimentsthe information on the directionality is indicated as a displacementvalue. In some embodiments the displacement value indicates whichreference value is used to obtain the prediction value of the last pixelof the last row of the current block. In some other embodiments theangular coefficient of the directionality is included in the bit stream.In yet another embodiments the allowed directionality values (intraprediction modes) are indexed and the index of the selected intraprediction mode is included in the bit stream.

The indication may not be included in the bit stream as such but it mayalso be encoded e.g. by entropy encoding. The prediction direction canalso be entropy coded in a predictive manner considering used predictiondirections in the image block's neighborhood, statistics of earlierprediction directions or other variables.

If the intra-prediction mode is selected, the block is predicted by anintra-prediction method (503). Respectively, if the inter-predictionmode is selected, the block is predicted by an inter-prediction method(504).

FIG. 4b depicts the intra predictor 308 of an example embodiment of theencoder in more detail. The intra predictor 308 may be implemented in aprediction processor 309 or as another circuitry. The predictionprocessor 309 may be a separate processor or it may be the sameprocessor than the block processor 310. The intra predictor 308comprises a pixel selector to select the pixel to be predicted. There isalso a directionality definer 401 which determines the directionality ofthe prediction mode which shall be used to predict the value for theselected pixel. The directionality definer 401 may receive someparameters from the parameter memory 404. When the directionality hasbeen determined the projection definer 402 defines the projection of theselected pixel to the set of reference pixels. The projection definer402 may also receive some parameters from the parameter memory 404. Theintra predictor 308 may further comprise a prediction definer 403 whichuses the information from the projection definer and the set ofreference pixels to determine the prediction value for the selectedpixel. The intra predictor 308 may repeat some or all the above steps todefine prediction values for all pixels of the block. The directionalityneed not be determined for each pixel of one block because in someembodiments the same directionality is used for each pixel of one block.

In an example embodiment, as is depicted in FIG. 9, the bit stream of animage comprises an indication of the beginning of an image 910, imageinformation of each block of the image 920, and indication of the end ofthe image 930. The image information of each block of the image 920 mayinclude the indication of the prediction mode 922, indication of thedirectionality 923, and the indication of pixel values of the block 924which may actually include coefficients of the residual signal when theinter- or intra-prediction has been used for the image block. It isobvious that the bit stream may also comprise other information.Further, this is only a simplified image of the bit stream and inpractical implementations the contents of the bit stream may bedifferent from what is depicted in FIG. 9.

The bit stream may further be encoded by the entropy encoder 330.

Although the embodiments above have been described with respect to thesize of the macroblock being 16×16 pixels, it would be appreciated thatthe methods and apparatus described may be configured to handlemacroblocks of different pixel sizes.

In the following the operation of an example embodiment of the decoder600 is depicted in more detail with reference to FIG. 6.

For completeness a suitable decoder is hereafter described. At thedecoder side similar operations are performed to reconstruct the imageblocks. FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of a video decoder suitable foremploying embodiments of the invention. The decoder shows an entropydecoder 600 which performs an entropy decoding on the received signal.The entropy decoder thus performs the inverse operation to the entropyencoder 330 of the encoder described above. The entropy decoder 600outputs the results of the entropy decoding to a prediction errordecoder 602 and pixel predictor 604.

The pixel predictor 604 receives the output of the entropy decoder 600.A predictor selector 614 within the pixel predictor 604 determines thatan intra-prediction, an inter-prediction, or interpolation operation isto be carried out. The predictor selector may furthermore output apredicted representation of an image block 616 to a first combiner 613.The predicted representation of the image block 616 is used inconjunction with the reconstructed prediction error signal 612 togenerate a preliminary reconstructed image 618. The preliminaryreconstructed image 618 may be used in the predictor 614 or may bepassed to a filter 620. The filter 620 applies a filtering which outputsa final reconstructed signal 622. The final reconstructed signal 622 maybe stored in a reference frame memory 624, the reference frame memory624 further being connected to the predictor 614 for predictionoperations.

In the case of intra-prediction the pixel predictor 604 may also receiveindication on the directionality wherein the pixel predictor 604 mayselect corresponding intra prediction mode for the decoding.

The prediction error decoder 602 receives the output of the entropydecoder 600. A dequantizer 692 of the prediction error decoder 602 maydequantize the output of the entropy decoder 600 and the inversetransform block 693 may perform an inverse transform operation to thedequantized signal output by the dequantizer 692. The output of theentropy decoder 600 may also indicate that prediction error signal isnot to be applied and in this case the prediction error decoder producesan all zero output signal. This is the case for example with the exampleembodiment of this invention. However some other embodiments of theinvention apply prediction error decoder unit to decode a non-zeroprediction error signal.

The decoder selects the 16×16 pixel residual macroblock to reconstruct.The selection of the 16×16 pixel residual macroblock to be reconstructedis shown in step 700.

The decoder receives information on the encoding mode used when thecurrent block has been encoded. The indication is decoded, whennecessary, and provided to the reconstruction processor 691 of theprediction selector 614. The reconstruction processor 691 examines theindication (block 701 in FIG. 7) and selects one of the intra-predictionmodes (block 703), if the indication indicates that the block has beenencoded using intra-prediction, inter-prediction mode (block 704), ifthe indication indicates that the block has been encoded usinginter-prediction. The decoder may also receive information on thedirectionality regarding the current block when the current block hasbeen encoded using intra prediction. In this context only the operationof the decoder in the intra prediction mode is described in more detail.

In the intra prediction mode the reconstruction processor 691 decodesinformation regarding the directionality (block 705). In someembodiments the directionality indication is sufficient to determine howthe prediction values for the block to be decoded can be obtained andwhich reference pixels to use in the intra prediction. Thereconstruction processor 691 also determines the reference points whichhave been used by the encoder in the intra prediction (block 706), andprovides the prediction values of the current block (block 707).

In the intra-prediction mode the reconstruction processor 691 mayprovide the preliminary reconstructed image 618 to the predictor block695 for reconstruction of the pixel values of the current block.

The embodiments of the invention described above describe the codec interms of separate encoder and decoder apparatus in order to assist theunderstanding of the processes involved. However, it would beappreciated that the apparatus, structures and operations may beimplemented as a single encoder-decoder apparatus/structure/operation.Furthermore in some embodiments of the invention the coder and decodermay share some or all common elements.

Although the above examples describe embodiments of the inventionoperating within a codec within an electronic device, it would beappreciated that the invention as described below may be implemented aspart of any video codec. Thus, for example, embodiments of the inventionmay be implemented in a video codec which may implement video codingover fixed or wired communication paths.

Thus, user equipment may comprise a video codec such as those describedin embodiments of the invention above.

It shall be appreciated that the term user equipment is intended tocover any suitable type of wireless user equipment, such as mobiletelephones, portable data processing devices or portable web browsers.

Furthermore elements of a public land mobile network (PLMN) may alsocomprise video codecs as described above.

In general, the various embodiments of the invention may be implementedin hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or anycombination thereof. For example, some aspects may be implemented inhardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or softwarewhich may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computingdevice, although the invention is not limited thereto. While variousaspects of the invention may be illustrated and described as blockdiagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, itis well understood that these blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques ormethods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limitingexamples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits orlogic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computingdevices, or some combination thereof.

The embodiments of this invention may be implemented by computersoftware executable by a data processor of the mobile device, such as inthe processor entity, or by hardware, or by a combination of softwareand hardware. Further in this regard it should be noted that any blocksof the logic flow as in the Figures may represent program steps, orinterconnected logic circuits, blocks and functions, or a combination ofprogram steps and logic circuits, blocks and functions. The software maybe stored on such physical media as memory chips, or memory blocksimplemented within the processor, magnetic media such as hard disk orfloppy disks, and optical media such as for example DVD and the datavariants thereof, CD.

The memory may be of any type suitable to the local technicalenvironment and may be implemented using any suitable data storagetechnology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memorydevices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memoryand removable memory. The data processors may be of any type suitable tothe local technical environment, and may include one or more of generalpurpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digitalsignal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multi-core processorarchitecture, as non-limiting examples.

Embodiments of the inventions may be practiced in various componentssuch as integrated circuit modules. The design of integrated circuits isby and large a highly automated process. Complex and powerful softwaretools are available for converting a logic level design into asemiconductor circuit design ready to be etched and formed on asemiconductor substrate.

Programs, such as those provided by Synopsys, Inc. of Mountain View,Calif. and Cadence Design, of San Jose, Calif. automatically routeconductors and locate components on a semiconductor chip using wellestablished rules of design as well as libraries of pre-stored designmodules. Once the design for a semiconductor circuit has been completed,the resultant design, in a standardized electronic format (e.g., Opus,GDSII, or the like) may be transmitted to a semiconductor fabricationfacility or “fab” for fabrication.

The foregoing description has provided by way of exemplary andnon-limiting examples a full and informative description of theexemplary embodiment of this invention. However, various modificationsand adaptations may become apparent to those skilled in the relevantarts in view of the foregoing description, when read in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings and the appended claims. However, all such andsimilar modifications of the teachings of this invention will still fallwithin the scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising at least a processor, anda memory associated with said processor and having computer codedinstructions stored therein, said instructions when executed by theprocessor causing the apparatus to perform: selecting a pixel of acurrent block for prediction, wherein the pixel of the current block isone of a plurality of pixels in a row or column of the current block;determining a projection of said pixel to a set of reference pixels,wherein the set of reference pixels for at least one pixel in the row orcolumn of the current block is already decoded reference pixels on a rowabove the current block, wherein the set of reference pixels for atleast another pixel in the row or column of the current block is alreadydecoded reference pixels on a column left of the current block, andwherein determining the projection comprises determining the projectionof said pixel to the row or column of reference pixels based on adisplacement measure between the row or column of the current block andthe row or column of reference pixels with the displacement measureexpressed with reference to a last pixel of a last row of the currentblock; selecting at least two adjacent reference pixels from said set ofreference pixels on the basis of said projection, and using saidselected at least two adjacent reference pixels to obtain a predictionvalue for said pixel to be predicted, wherein said prediction value isdetermined by linearly interpolating the values of said at least twoadjacent reference pixels based on the distance of the projection fromthe at least two reference pixels.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, furthercomprising computer instructions causing the apparatus to perform:evaluating a first cost value for a first projection and a second costvalue for a second projection; and selecting the projection for theencoding on the basis of the first cost value and the second cost value.3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising computer instructionscausing the apparatus to perform: determining a directionality value fora current block of pixels.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, furthercomprising computer instructions causing the apparatus to perform:encoding information indicative of the projection and intra-encodingmethod into a bit stream.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein an imagecomprises at least four blocks of pixels in two or more rows and in twoor more columns, each block of pixels comprising at least two rows ofpixels and two columns of pixels, the apparatus further comprisingcomputer instructions causing the apparatus to perform encoding theimage block-wise from left to right and from top to bottom, anddetermining the projection on the basis of the pixel at the lower rightcorner of the block as the control point.
 6. A method comprising:selecting, using a processor, a pixel of a current block for prediction,wherein the pixel of the current block is one of a plurality of pixelsin a row or column of the current block; determining a projection ofsaid pixel to a set of reference pixels, wherein the set of referencepixels for at least one pixel in the row or column of the current blockis already decoded reference pixels on a row above the current block,wherein the set of reference pixels for at least another pixel in therow or column of the current block is already decoded reference pixelson a column left of the current block, and wherein determining theprojection comprises determining the projection of said pixel to the rowor column of reference pixels based on a displacement measure betweenthe row or column of the current block and the row or column ofreference pixels with the displacement measure expressed with referenceto a last pixel of a last row of the current block; selecting at leasttwo adjacent reference pixels from said set of reference pixels on thebasis of said projection; and obtaining a prediction value for saidpixel to be predicted by using said selected at least two adjacentreference pixels and by linearly interpolating the values of said atleast two adjacent reference pixels based on the distance of theprojection from the at least two reference pixels.
 7. The method ofclaim 6, further comprising: determining a directionality value for thecurrent block of pixels.
 8. The method of claim 6, further comprising:encoding information indicative of the projection and the selectedencoding method into a bit stream.
 9. The method of claim 6, wherein animage comprises at least four blocks of pixels in two or more rows andin two or more columns, each block of pixels comprising at least tworows of pixels and two columns of pixels, the method further comprising:determining the projection on the basis of the pixel at the lower rightcorner of the block as the control point.
 10. A computer program productcomprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium havingcomputer coded instructions stored therein, said instructions whenexecuted by a processor cause an apparatus to: select a pixel of acurrent block for prediction, wherein the pixel of the current block isone of a plurality of pixels in a row or column of the current block;determine a projection of said pixel to a set of reference pixels,wherein the set of reference pixels for at least one pixel in the row orcolumn of the current block is already decoded reference pixels on a rowabove the current block, wherein the set of reference pixels for atleast another pixel in the row or column of the current block is alreadydecoded reference pixels on a column left of the current block, andwherein determining the projection comprises determining the projectionof said pixel to the row or column of reference pixels based on adisplacement measure between the row or column of the current block andthe row or column of reference pixels with the displacement measureexpressed with reference to a last pixel of a last row of the currentblock; select at least two adjacent reference pixels from said set ofreference pixels on the basis of said projection; and obtain aprediction value for said pixel to be predicted by using said selectedat least two adjacent reference pixels and by linearly interpolating thevalues of said at least two adjacent reference pixels based on thedistance of the projection from the at least two reference pixels. 11.An apparatus, comprising: an analyzer configured for examining anindication of a directionality regarding a block of pixels of an imageto be decoded; and a reconstructor configured for: determining aprojection of a pixel of said block of pixels to be decoded on a set ofreference pixels, wherein the pixel of the block of pixels to be decodedis one of a plurality of pixels in a row or column of the block ofpixels, wherein the set of reference pixels for at least one pixel inthe row or column of the block of pixels to be decoded is alreadydecoded reference pixels on a row above the block of pixels to bedecoded, wherein the set of reference pixels for at least another pixelin the row or column of the block of pixels to be decoded is alreadydecoded reference pixels on a column left of the block of pixels to bedecoded, and wherein determining the projection comprises determiningthe projection of said pixel to the row or column of reference pixelsbased on a displacement measure between the row or column of the blockof pixels to be decoded and the row or column of reference pixels withthe displacement measure expressed with reference to a last pixel of alast row of the block of pixels to be decoded; selecting at least twoadjacent reference pixels from said set of reference pixels on the basisof said projection; and using said selected at least two adjacentreference pixels to obtain a prediction value for said pixel to bepredicted and by linearly interpolating the values of said at least twoadjacent reference pixels based on the distance of the projection fromthe at least two reference pixels.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11,further configured for receiving an indication of the projection.
 13. Amethod, comprising: examining an indication of a directionalityregarding a block of pixels of an image to be decoded; determining,using a processor, a projection of a pixel of said block of pixels to bedecoded on a set of reference pixels, wherein the pixel of the block ofpixels to be decoded is one of a plurality of pixels in a row or columnof the block of pixels, wherein the set of reference pixels for at leastone pixel in the row or column of the block of pixels to be decoded isalready decoded reference pixels on a row above the block of pixels tobe decoded, wherein the set of reference pixels for at least anotherpixel in the row or column of the block of pixels to be decoded isalready decoded reference pixels on a column left of the block of pixelsto be decoded, and wherein determining the projection comprisesdetermining the projection of said pixel to the row or column ofreference pixels based on a displacement measure between the row orcolumn of the block of pixels to be decoded and the row or column ofreference pixels with the displacement measure expressed with referenceto a last pixel of a last row of the block of pixels to be decoded;selecting at least two adjacent reference pixels from said set ofreference pixels on the basis of said projection; and using saidselected at least two adjacent reference pixels to obtain a predictionvalue for said pixel to be predicted by linearly interpolating thevalues of said at least two adjacent reference pixels based on thedistance of the projection from the at least two reference pixels. 14.The method of claim 13, further comprising: receiving an indication ofthe projection.
 15. A computer program product comprising anon-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer codedinstructions stored therein, said instructions when executed by aprocessor cause an apparatus to: examine an indication of adirectionality regarding a block of pixels of an image to be decoded;determine a projection of a pixel of said block of pixels to be decodedon a set of reference pixels, wherein the pixel of the block of pixelsto be decoded is one of a plurality of pixels in a row or column of theblock of pixels, wherein the set of reference pixels for at least onepixel in the row or column of the block of pixels to be decoded isalready decoded reference pixels on a row above the block of pixels tobe decoded, wherein the set of reference pixels for at least anotherpixel in the row or column of the block of pixels to be decoded isalready decoded reference pixels on a column left of the block of pixelsto be decoded, and wherein determining the projection comprisesdetermining the projection of said pixel to the row or column ofreference pixels based on a displacement measure between the row orcolumn of the block of pixels to be decoded and the row or column ofreference pixels with the displacement measure expressed with referenceto a last pixel of a last row of the block of pixels to be decoded;select at least two adjacent reference pixels from said set of referencepixels on the basis of said projection; and use said selected at leasttwo adjacent reference pixels to obtain a prediction value for saidpixel to be predicted by linearly interpolating the values of said atleast two adjacent reference pixels based on the distance of theprojection from the at least two reference pixels.